Project 35

In spring of 2009, there was an article in The Tracker: Journal of the Organ Historical Society (Vol. 53, No. 12), that featured the discovery of a small, 9-rank, two manual pipe organ at the Spanish Calvary Baptist Church, in Brooklyn, NY. The organ—thought to be the only work (circa 1901) of brothers William and Charles H. Pilcher—was found to be in very poor state, having not been played in many decades. In fact, it has been said that the organ was “destined for the landfill.”

Fast forward a few years: the Chapel at Spa Apartments, a senior living facility in Clifton Springs NY, had just gone through a major restoration. The Chapel, located on the first floor of the large Victorian brick building on the campus of the Clifton Springs Hospital, contains stained glass windows by the Boston firm Spence, Moakler & Bell; as well as a beautiful mosaic depicting the Last Supper, by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The restoration of the windows, mosaic and the chapel itself was carried out by John Lord of Waterloo, NY.

It has been credited to be Lord’s suggestion—that the chapel have a pipe organ—that lead  Clifton Springs Hospital to contact Parsons. They wanted to find a small instrument of some historic significance for the chapel that was used for church, funerals and memorial services, as well as concerts and weddings.

The organ that was eventually chosen was the Pilcher organ. In early 2012, Parsons removed the organ from Brooklyn and brought it back to Bristol, where it underwent complete and thorough restoration. The organ had suffered extensive water damage, requiring extensive work on the wooden components of the instrument, including the windchests. Pipes were severely bent/damaged and had to be sent to a pipe repair shop.

A few changes were made. A balanced swell shoe from a historic Roosevelt organ was added, in place of the original hitch down expression pedal. Certain historically appropriate adjustments were added to the key action to increase the reliability of the action. While retaining the original hand-pump mechanism, a small electric blower was also provided to feed the original double-rise reservoir.

The organ was installed in early December of 2012 and dedicated the following January.